Magnet-contact for propulsion of cars.



PATENTED' DEG. 1s, 1904.

J. M. MORGAN.

MAGNET CONTACT FOR PROPULSION 0F CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28,1904.

N0 MODEL.

@EES

EMU:

WITNESSES:

INVENTOR.

UNITED STATES Patented December 13, 1904.

JAMES M. MORGAN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

MAGNET-CONTACT FOR PROPULSION OF CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,124, dated December13, 1904. Application filed July 28, 1904. Serial No. 213,507. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMEs M. MORGAN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Magnet-Contact for Propulsion of Cars,&c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to magnet contact means for use in conjunction withsurface or overhead tracks, whereby each conductor-rail is independentlycharged as a car or other electrically-propelled vehicle passes over itand a circuit closed between the feed-wire and the motor by which thecar is propelled.

The primary object of my invention is to provide simple and efficientmeans whereby a conductor-rail is put into electric circuit with afeed-wire only when and during the time a car or otherelectrically-propelled vehicle is passing over the same and the currentso formed communicated to themotor on the car for propelling the same,the rail becoming dead as soon as the car has passed free thereof,thereby eliminating the dangers to persons and animals incident to theelectric propulsion systems employing continually-chargedconductor-rails for communicating and closing a circuit with the motorof a car when a shoe, roller, or other current-conducting means is incontact therewith.

A further object of my invention is to so construct the magnet-carrier,by means of which the arinatures or contact-arms within each rail areenergized to close an electric circuit during the passing of saidcarrier over .a rail, as to permit said carrier to readily accommodateitself to follow the curves of a track on which it is traveling and alsoto have a vertical oscillatory movement to permit it to travel overuneven surfaces.

Other objects of my invention will be apparent from the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a planview of the armature or contact arms employed in myinvention. Fig. 2 isa side elevation thereof with the supporting-stem and receiving-socketin vertical section. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the contact-rail of myinvention, showing an armaturc-arm in normal position therein. Fig. 4cis a bottom view of themagnet-carrier frame, and Fig. 5 is a(.liagrammatic elevation of my invention as applied to a car with thecon ductor-rail partly in section.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the conductor-rail of myinvention, and consists of the base or lower portion a and the cap oroval surface-strip Z), which latter has its lower outer edges formed inwedge shape to adapt them to seat within the similarly-shaped groovesor, provided on the surface of the base portion a. The cap 5 may besecured to the base a in a suitable manner, and when so secured forms anair and Water tight joint there with. Disposed centrally of the uppersurface of the base (a is provided a longitudinal groove 0, in which thecontact-arms (Z (Z of the armatures B are loosely mounted, ashereinafter described. The cap 5, which extends the entire length of therail, is made of conductive material, while the base portion a thereofmay be made of any suitable supporting material, and if of a conductivenature be insulated from the arniature B in the usual manner, as shownat (I. When the rails A of a track are positioned, the contiguous orabutting ends thereof are separated from each other by insulation 7/, sothat when a rail is charged the current will not be communicated to thenext succeeding rail.

In order that the feed-Wire c, from which the current is received, mayat all times be protected from air and Water, it is located within asmall conduit (1', provided in the lower part of the base a the entirelength thereof, and has communication with the groove 0 of said basethrough a vertical opening provided therein for the reception of aportion of the armature 1-3, as shown in Fig. 5. The feedrail c isproperly insulated from contact with the base a of the conductor-railtoprevent the current from passing to the cap 7) except through themedium of the armature B.

' ing loosely within a socket a, which is secured frames 2' together inthe manner shown is to The arms (7 (Z of each armature B have their linner ends pivotall y connected together in rabbeted position within theU-shaped bracket f thereof and their outer ends tipped with copper, asshown at (7', for making contact with the cap 7) of a rail A when saidarms are raised, as hereinafter described. In order to keep thecontact-points of the copper tips polished to insure perfect contactwith the cap 7), the upper edges of the outer ends of the arms (Z arebeveled or tapered, as shown, to adapt them when raised to seat snuglywithin a correspondinglytapcred groove 7/, provided in alining positionin the under surface of the cap 7), said tips being kept polished byreason of the frictional engagement of the edges of the contact-armswith the sides of said groove, which also compensates for wearoccasioned by repeated contact of said points.

A stem projects downwardly from each bracket f and is adapted to extendwithin one of the vertical openings in the base (6 of the rail and seatwithin a thimble 7L, which latter rests upon a non-insulated portion ofthe feedwire 0, having its under surface grooved, as shown at 7/, forthat purpose.

The magnet-carrier C is composed of a plurality of pivotally-connectedframes 1', (shown in the drawings as three in number,) in each of whichis carried a magnet j and is supported above the conductor-rail A of atrack by means of the sliding shoes or peripherallygrooved rollers 70,which travel thereon. The rollers are mounted at either end of thecarrier C between arms Z, which project from the outer frames thereofand are guided and retained in position onthe rail by means of theantifrictionrollers 70, which are mounted on spindles projectingdownwardly from the arms 7 on either side of the rollers Z. and engagethe sides of the rail, as shown in Fig. 5. The lower portion of eachframe 2 is provided with an opening '5, through which a portion of themagnets j are adapted to project in close proximity to theconductor-rail.

The carrier, G is attached to a car by means of a pivotally-mounted stemm, projecting from the central frame r: thereof and operatto thecar-body and allows for vertical play of such body. The movement of thestem m within said socket is cushioned or neutralized by means of acompression-spring 72' or other suitable means.

The object of pivotally connecting the enable the magnets and rollers orshoes 75, carried by said frames, to at all times be directly over andfollow the course of a track no matter what the curvatures of the samemay be,

carrier is to provide for an oscillatory movement of said carrier withrespect to the car to enable it to accommodate itself to the changingcontour of a track-surface.

In the operation of my invention a number of the armatures B are placedwithin the groove 0 of a conductor-rail A as is necessary to enable oneof the magnets 7', carried by the frames 7?, to always be in position toenergize one of them as the car passes along, one armature always beingenergized and thrown in contact with the conductor-cap 7) of the railbefore the one to the rear is dropped to its normal non-contactingposition, thereby insuring a continuous circuit between the feedwire andthe motor of a car and preventing a conductor-rail from becoming deadwhile a car is passing thereover. As the arms (Z (Z of an armature areenergized by the magnets in the carrier C passing over them they areraised to bring the copper-tipped ends thereof in contact with the cap50f the rail, thereby causing an electric current to pass along therail-cap b and be communicated to the motor D of the car through thecarrier C and wiring E. After a carrier has passed over the lastarmature of a rail and charged the next succeeding rail by moving overthe first armature therein the arms of the former armature drop bygravity from contact with the conductor-cap 7) of the rail and restloosely upon the insulation (0 within the groove 0, thus completing acircuit in a rail only when a car is passing over it and remaining deadat other times. The manner in which the contact-arms (7 (Z arepivoted'together prevents independent lateral movement thereof and alsoretains the same in perfect alining position within a rail irrespectiveof a slanting or other position thereof.

It is obvious that my invention may be used in connection with electricrailways, traveling cranes, tramways, &c., in which a conductor-rail isemployed for closing a circuit with the operating-motor as it passesalong the same, and also that such changes in the form,

proportion, and minor details of construction of the parts as fairlyfall within the scope of my invention maybe made without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the ad vantages thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an electric railway, the combination of a sectional conductor-railcomprising an oval cap portion having a tapered groove in its under sideand a base portion having a longitudinal groove therein, a feed-wireassociated with said rail, an armature pivotally mounted in the groovein said base portion and having connection with said feed-wire and aportion tapered to seat within the groove in said cap portion, anelement movable over said rail, and means carried by said elementadapted to energize the armatures in said rail as they are passed overto have contact with the cap portion of said rail and communicate anelectric current thereto.

2. In combination, a sectional rail comprising acouductor-strip and abase portion the latter having a longitudinal groove therein, eachsection being insulated from the other, a feed-wire associated with saidbase portion, a series of armature-arms mounted in pairs in the'groove01'' said base portion the arms of each pair having common connectionwith said feed-wire, a carriage movable over said rail, means carried bysaid carriage for causing the armaturaarms as they are passed over to beraised to have contact with the. conductorstrip of said rail andcommunicate a circuit thereto for the purpose described.

3. In combination, a conductor-rail formed of sections insulated fromeach other and having a longitudinal]y-hollowed portion, a conductor-capon said rail, a feed-wire insulated from sail rail, one or more pairs ofcoppertipped armature-arms mounted in each railsection, each pair ofarms being pivotally connected in rabbeted position and having a commonsource of communication with the feedwire, contact means movable oversaid rail, and means carried by said contact means for energizing thearms of the armatures as they are passed over to be raised to havecontact and close a circuit withthe conductor-cap of the rail,

4L. The combination with a conductor-rail, a source of electricity, andarmatures mounted in said rail adapted when energized to close a circuitbetween said source of electricity and rail, of a frame composed of aseries of pivotally-connectcd laterally-movabl-e n'iagnet-scctionsmounted in said framen'ollers movable on the rail for supporting saidframe, and a stem pivotally secured to one of said frame-sections andhaving yielding connection with a carbody whereby said frame ispermitted to have an oscillatory and a vertical movement with respect tothe rail.

5. In combination,a conductor-rail comprising sections insulated fromeach other and having a hollowed portion, a feed-wire insulated fromsaid rail, one or more pairs of armaturearms mounted in the hollowedportion of the rail in normally non-contacting position, a stem to whicheach pair of armsis pivoted, a socket having connection with thefeed-Wire and adapted to receive the free end of said stem whereby acharge is communicated to said arms, and means movable over said trackfor causing said arms to be raised to have contact with theconductor-rail as they are passed over.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. MORGAN.

Witnesses:

THOMAS M. FRANEY, G. W. OWEN.

